Improvement in wood-splitting machines



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'LIAM SIEVERWOOD, OE SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent' No; 100,679, dated Maqch 8, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT In woon-SPLITTING MACHINES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters P atent and part of the same.

To all whom 'it 'may' concern i v l Beit known that I, ROBERT D. SILvEnWoOD, of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore, and State of l Maryland, haveinvented certain Improvements in Wood-Splitting Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to machines for splitting wood, and the invention consists- First, lin a novel method of feeding the wood to the knife* Secbnd, a means for adjusting the height of the table or bed to suit different lengths of wood; and

u Third, in the arrangement ofmechanism for operating the several parts. p In the accompanying drawings Figure lis a side elevation of my improved ma- 4chine, complete;

Figure 2 is a front elevation; andv v Figure 3, a transverse vertical section taken on the line x z of fig. l; p

Figure 4 is a top plan View of my feeding wheel detached. ,l y c In constructing my improved machine, I provide a rectangular upright frame, A, in the upper part of l which I mount the driving-shaft B, on which shaft I j secure a fast and loose pulley, C, a balance-wheel, D,4

andan eccentric, E. At the outer end of this shaft I securel acrank orl wheel with a` wristrpin, to which is secured a pitman,

H th'e lower end of which is connected to a knife, J, mounted .in a suitable gate moving in ways, m, attached to the frame A, the knife working through an opening in a clearer plate, c, in the usual manner, as shown in figs. land 2. l

In the lower part of the frame I mount another shaft, F, on which I mounta ratchet-wheel, I, as shown j, `more clearly in iig. 3, and .on thisl shaft, yby the side of this wheel, I hang an elbow-lever, e, to the outer end of which is pivoted a pawl to engage withthev teeth ofthe ratchet-wheel The elbow-lever c, I connect by a rod, el, with the eccentric E on the upper shaft, so that at eachrevolu- 4 tion ofthe upper shaft the elbow-lever, with its pawl b, `is depressed; the pawl sliding over the teeth in its downward movement, and then is drawn up again,

y the pawl engaging with the' teeth of wheel I as the level' crises, thereby imparting to the lower shaft F an intermittent movement. The elbow-lever eispro` vided with a series of holes, or with a slot, as may be preferred, so thatthe connection of thev rod d may be made nearer to or further from the shaft F, which is the center of motion of said lever and pawl, and thereby vary or regulate the movement of `the shaft F, causing 'it 'to move more or less, as may he desired,

andfor reasons hereinafter explained.

In front of the frameA,I place a bed or splittingb lock or table, K, on which the wood is to rest and" be supportedv while being split by the knife J, as represented in figs. 2 and 3. i

This table or bed I prefer to build up in transverse sections of solid timber or planks, the sections varying in thickness, so that by inserting or removing one or moresecvtions the height of the block or table may be varied at will to suit diii'erent lengths of wood.

A section is cut out of this block or table on one l side, as represented at T, figs. 1 and 2, the base of this cnt forming an incline, as there represented.

Upon this stationary table, I mount a wheel, L, of peculiar construction. This wheel consists of a central hub and disk, at the periphery of which is a raised rim or annular flange, n, and from this ange n there vextends a series of radial bars or arms, o, tothe outer ends of which is secured another annular flange or rim, ll', upon the periphery/of which latter rim there is a continuous row of cog teeth, as represented inv iigs. l and 4. m

V This wheel may be cast entire, but I prefer to make the central and the exterior vportions separately, and the'nto connect the two b y the radial bars o1" arms o of tough wood, the'latter being vless'liable to break,

" and .easier repla'ct a lv of accident than when made f of cast-iron. i

Thiswheel thus formed `is secured4 loosely in ahorizontal position on the upper face ofthe bed K, where it is held in position by a central bolt, 1,'. on which the wheel turns as a journal.

`Upon the outer end oi the lowershaft, I secure a 'cog-wheel, P, which isso located asA to gear into the cogs on the periphery of the feedwheel L, and thus to impart to the latter a motion corresponding with its own movements.

When the parts are thus constructed and arranged the blocks of wood are set on end in the spaces between the iianges u and r of the whecl'L, and, as the latter moves, the radial arms o of the wheel L sweep or push the blocks along before them on the face of the bed, the blocks nesting on the face of the bed, and moving in the are of a circle, until they are brought under the knife J,-which splits them as it descends. As the-wheel L continues its movements, the blocks which have been thus split are carried forward until they arrive at the point where the bed is cnt away, when the sticks fall through between the arms o, and sliding down the incline T are thus delivered from the wheel L. p

VIt will, of course, be understood "that the eccentric E is to be so adjusted in relation to the knife as to cause the wheel L to move forward as the knife as neet-ed to theelbow-lever e the movement of the shaft F, and consequently of the feed-wheel L, may be increased or decreased at pleasure, and thus the wood be split finer or coarser, at will.

By this method of constructing a machine, I dispense with the use of sectional or jointed beds or carriers, and produce a very eicient, simple, and strong machine, and one that can be adi usted to split wood of various lengths and of dierent degrees of fineness, and in which the wood while being split rests firmly ona stationary bed or block.

Having thus described myinvention,

What I claim is- 1. The feed-wheel L, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as described.

2. The sectional bed or support K, having the recess T, or its equivalent, substantially as setlforth.

3. The combination of the feed-wheel L with the shaft F, having the Wheel P, ratchet-wheel I, and elbow-lever with its pawl b mounted thereon, and connected by the adjustable rod d to the eccentric E, when said parts are arranged to operate as and for the purpose herein described.

Witnesses: ROBERT D. SILVERWOOD.

THOMAS CARLTON, GEO. DEWEY. 

